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M. P. MGKOON.

TENT.

(No Model.)

ATTORNEYS.

N. Pneus, Fumo-umm. wmingw". im;

u UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Y MERRITT P.' MOKOON, OF EL CAJON, CALIFORNIA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 357,329, dated February 8, 188'7.

Application filed October 7, 1886. Serial No. 215,61?. (No model.)

c To all whom it may concern.:

Beit known that I, MERRITT P. McKooN, of El Cajon, in the the county of San Diego and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Tents, of whichn the following is a full, clear, and exact description. This invention relates to that description of tents which,owing to their resemblance in shape, as seen from their ends, to the n'rst capital letter of the alphabet, are known as A- tents.77 Such tents have ordinarily their ends made dat or straight across, and open up the middle of their end or ends sufficiently high to form the door or doors. My improved A- tent, however, has its ends firmly closed and extended at bottom into a half-diamond shape, and has the doorway at the center of one of the sides, and an inverted-V-shaped canvas or tent material roof over the doorway, from the front peak of which it has a guy-rope passing over a suitable support for holding said roof` straight out and firm, substantially as hereinafter described. These differences constitute the main features of my invention.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification, in which similar Vletters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a 'perspective view of my improved tent with one of thedoor-flaps thrown open and back upon the tent, whilel the other' flap i's secured in proper position to the inverted-V-Shaped roofing over the doorway. The thrown-back flap is also to fasten at will to the other or its nearest side of door roofing, and thus form a larger inverted-V- shaped way intothe tent, and a shelter from wind, sun, and storms, &c. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a small portion of one of the ends, 'in illustration of the^seam which runs centrally down it. The end of the rope on said seam, which fastens to tent pin, may be a spliced loop, orl a foot and a half, or more, of

`loose rope to tie to tent-pin, preferably the loose long end of rope which may be loosened or tightened, as dry or wet weather shrinks or swells the seam or rope. Fig. Bis a ground plan 0r diagram illustrating the shape of the tent at its base.

A indicates the one side of the tent,whi ch meets, as usual, with the opposite side in a ridge, b, said sides being made of canvas or other suitable iiexible material, as are also the ends of the tent and the roof over the doorway.

' B B are the ends of the tent, which incline outward at a suitable angle, according to the size of the tent, from the sides of t-he tent toward the longitudinal center thereof. The angular margins of said ends meet in a seam,

Ac,extending from top to bottom, and causing each end of the tent to present a half-diamond shape in appearance at bottom, growing less as it approaches the 'peak of the tent, where it disappears.

d dare the end tent-poles inside of the tent, c e the tent-pole irons, and f the ridge-pole, as usual.

g g are the pins or stakes by which the entire tent at its lower edges is secured to the ground in any of the usual modes.

C C are the door-iiaps of the doorway-D, which doorway is on one side of the body of the tent, and in its exact center and at the center seam, said flaps C C forming, when thrown open,a liberal doorway, D. The flaps C C are both overlapping flaps, sufficiently so vto enable them when extended out and upward to join with their usual tie-ropes,u,to the doorway roofing side, also provided with similar tie-roops, n.

E is a canvas or tent material roof or awning of an inverted-V shape, angularly joined to the body of the tent,so as to project straight out from the side of the tent over the doorway, andis held tant by a guy-rope, h,passedthrough a crotch on the upper end of a rough upright or long stake, F, and secu-red at ananglc below to the ground by or round a usual tent pin or stake,g. The roof E over and in front of the doorway serves to'keep out sun, wind, and rain, and serves as an admirable shelter or canopy'forsmoking or sitting under. It also admits of the extended door-flaps C C being attached or detached, as desired, to its sides. lts practical shape and combined facilities, unlike one of straight or dat shape, afford, besides every protection against wind, rain, or sun, many pleasing minor points of value. The V or half-diamond shaped ends B B of the tent are made permanently tight or closed, and the center seam, c, is double-lapped and IOL) double sewed or felled, and is also roped, as more clearly shown in Fig. 2, whereby the stability or ijrm standing of the tentvis materially and valuably strengthened. The closed V or half-diamond shaped ends being` made solid--that is, not weakened by open `doorways-and being strengthened by the double- Sewed and double-lapped and roped center seams,c,pnlling and holding at proper angles from each other, and the tent-body, givesgreat and valuable needed iirmness to the entire tent. The ropes s of said seams, being staked to the ground at their lower ends and linked over and to the projecting end pole-irons and pulling directly at proper angles with the side seams of the body and with the ridge-pole, effectually prevents swaying and loosening of the tent from its grou iid-holdings during heavy winds or storms. The roped seams c,in fact, form a very valuable bracing or holding support to the ends of the tent and the entire tent. rlhe closed V or hal f-diainond shaped ends B B also give more room in the tent and at its ends too, for storing goods and supplies, and this, too, out of the waybehind the usual bunks;and these ends may be curtained and used as closets also, while the doorway D, being upon one side only of the tent and in the center thereof, permits of the bunks being arranged crosswise instead of lengthwise of the tent, upon each side of the doorway and next to each V- shaped end. This eeononiizes room and allows of the occupants of the tent having free access toits center and most desirable part,

with ample space at said part for the usual messchest, table, chairs, &c. These facilities, together' with the advantages hereinbei'ore stated for the peculiar supporting construction of the lends of the tentand the inverted- V-shaped rooting over` the doorway, make this improved A-tent greatly superior to the ordinary tent of that description. These improvements put upon A-tents, which may be made of any desired size, also greatly add to the beauty of the tents.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secu rc by Letters Patent, is-

1. The within-described A-shaped tent having its ends B B of V or half-diamond shape, with a doublydapped and donbly-sewed seam, c, stiffened by a braeingrope, s,vdo\vn their center, in combination with the overlapping door-flaps C C, arranged to close or open a doorway, D, in the center of one side of t-he tent, substantially as specified.

2. An A-shaped tent having V or half-diamond shaped permanently-closed ends B B, with a doorway,D, in the center of one side of the tent, overlapping flaps C C, adapted to effectually open, close, or partly close said doorway, an inverted-V-shaped flexible roof or awning,E, and a center guy or tightening rope, 7i, substantially as shown and described.

MERRITT P. MOKOON. lVitnesses:

ERNST WALTHER, THOMAS J. Cox. 

